The Ainmihi Empire
The governing body that rules over all Ainmihi. History Pre-Empire The history of the Ainmihi Empire is a rather tragic one. It is also a very incomplete one, for a large part of their history has been lost across wars, feuds and purges. The following information has been pieced together through the collaboration of many xenoanthropologists and historians. At an unspecific point in history, around 100,000-80,000BC in human terms of time, it was said that the Ainmihi lived in near utopias. They were split into many nation-states, ruled over by philosopher-queens and protected by warrior-poetesses. According to Ainmihi historians, this is where much of the Ainmihi language formed. This suggests that poetry was a significant part of Ainmihi cultures. This era is referred to as the Tellurian Age, due to the fact that priestesses claim that Tel worship began in these nation-states. However, society started breaking down around 5000 BC. No one is certain as to the cause of decline, but old documents suggest that the principle cause was a plague referenced only as "The Grey Turning." Specifically, the documents reference the burning of corpses and wearing masks over the mouth and nose, two common ways of stopping the spread of infection in pandemics. The same documents refer to the patients as "Life-Eaters," describing how in one clinic a mob of these life-eaters "fell upon the doctors and nurses...and drained them dry..." Whether the Grey Turning actually turned patients into vampire-like beasts or simply caused patients to riot because of dementia or hopelessness is speculation. Many medical historians believe that the Grey Turning was a disease similar to rabies, due to similarities in symptoms recorded in medical and police documents. Whatever happened, around 4 AD there is no sign of the former nation states. It is possible that the Grey Turning and life-eaters took their toll on society, and the nation states collapsed. What happened then is known only through word of mouth. What happened is that smaller states rose out of the older ones, presided over a warrior-queen; a warlord, or rather a warlady. It is believed that the noble Houses that exist today were the families of these warladies. This is said to continue to about 513 AD. Unification War At 513 AD, a warlady named Gul'rosa that ruled over a large shard of the former nation-states, started to wage war against the smaller shards around her. Unlike the or shards, there are written communications found. They document that she expanded rapidly. While she was known as a fierce warrior, her expansion also appeared to be the work of political alliances, with her allies eventually forming noble houses in the fledgeling empire. Documents also suggest the use of firearms that were on par of those found in the 19th century in human history. Eventually, around 720 AD, Gul'rosa captured all territory on Tarsus. She established the Ainmihi Empire we know today and House Rosa, the house of empresses. Her closest allies, who were Set, Deng'ra, Kai'fi and Lur, founded the Houses Set, Deng, Kai and Lur, which, to this day, remain the most powerful behind Rosa. The Empire, 720 AD- 2125AD. The empire was, at first, in a state of fugue. The different shards, in between the time of nation states and the empire, had formed their own cultures and dialects. Thus, Empress Gul'rosa embarked on an attempt to merge the cultures into a large monoculture. However, she did so through state-sponsored pogroms, which sparked rebellions and prompted massive military response. This seemed to be the end of the empire, as Gul'rosa was assassinated in 800AD. However, her daughter, Sel'Rosa, stopped the rebellions by implementing a policy of cultural pluralism and creating noble houses amongst some of the rebel leaders. While it seemed to be a bad decision, it worked in securing peace and sent a message that she would honor the promise of preserving cultures. Because of Sel'Rosa's open-mindedness, the empire began to flourish. Many advances in science, humanities and technology occured between 830AD and 1500AD. Around 1529AD, the Ainmihi discovered the Particle and found FTL travel. They began to travel amongst the stars, rapidly expanding into planets within their system. Eventually, the Ainmihi found the Citadel, but found it inhabited by the Aurans. The Aurans, not willing to lose the Citadel because of war, offered to share it with the Ainmihi. The Ainmihi, both tired and scared with their new discovery, agreed. Nothing of note occured until 2060 AD. The Earth Rebellions/ First Contact War At 2060AD, Ainmihi astronomers found a blue planet with a similar atmosphere to Tarsus. The Empire decided to claim it, until a shadowy organization named Majestic 12 stepped in and stopped the process. MJ-12 told the council formed by the other species that Earth was inhabited. Bewildered, the Ainmihi Empire claimed that they would still pursue Earth as a territory. This marks the first time that the Empire tried to colonize a planet that was inhabited by a sentient species. They were prohibited from further pursuit, unless they could prove that humans would benefit from colonization. The Ainmihi collected information throughout human history, and stated that humanity could not care for itself, citing the Great Collapse, the Cold War, both World Wars and the company rule. Eventually, the council conceded to the Ainmihi. At 2070AD, the Ainmihi invaded. Humans fought back, and the CHCS defeated the Empire in 2080AD. Present At 2125 AD, the Ainmihi Empire is ruled by Empress Cel'Rosa. The Empire is obligated to pay reparations to the CHCS. Government The government of the Empire is fairly simple. The main legislative body is the Senate. The Senate is a bicameral legislature. The First House, as it is referred to, is composed of the heads of the noble Houses. They are able to motion on laws, taxes, colonization and start a movement called Akulakhan, in which if enough houses support it, they can override the power of the Empress for about six months. The heads of each house must step down. Thus, Akulakhan has never been motioned in the history of the Empire. In order to pass a motion, the motion must receive the majority of the vote. Each vote is weighted based on the power of the house, calculated as 10 + (Net Value in accounts, trades, bonds, etc. * 10^-9) * 0.43, meaning that while one house's vote may be worth 60, another may be worth 105. Thus, Set, Kai, Lur, Deng and Khrush have a lot of power. Simply getting all of them to support a law is enough to pass it. However, those houses rarely agree with each other, and the smaller houses are needed. The Second House i composed of officials elected by the public. They have al of the powers of the First House, except for initializing colonization. Each person only has one vote. The head of state and governement is the Empress. She can make any law. However, her laws may be overturned by both Houses in the Senate. Houses There are many noble houses in the Empire (about 105 in 2125 AD). The six most important, however, are Rosa, Set, Kai, Lur, Deng and Khrush. These houses are often behind colonization and new laws. Despite the fact that they wield incredible power, they avoid abusing their power, as they are full aware pf the power of the commoners. They must wield their power like a scalpel. Current Political Issues The State of the Earth Colonies There still remain Ainmihi colonies on Earth, due to the fact that they were allowed to remain in the Treaty of Earth. The problem is that there are humans trapped in the colonies, which draws the ire of many humans. Recently, a political group called the Reunionists demanded that the Empire cede all colonies back to Humanity, with the Reunionists citing reasons such as poor conditions for the humans. Recently, more unrest flared up in the colonies in the US with the guilty verdict of the Johnsons. Some Ainmihi wish to cut the colonies off from the empire, while others wish to maintain the colonies, and a small but vocal minority wishing a return to war. Masculinity Recently, male Ainmihi demanded the right to vote and the ability to hold occupations in the highly matriarchal empire. Many demonstrations have taken place across the Empire, even on Tarsus. Public opinion is split evenly about granting suffrage. Some feel it is a step that is easily taken, while others feel it is unnatural and express fears of moving toward a unisex society.